Since President Maeda's arrival, there have been as many donors of $100K or more to scholarships, as there had been in the entire pre-2009 history of RISD, and twice the number of six-figure scholarship donors among alumni. This includes a $100,000 donation from Maeda himself to spur the scholarship fundraising campaign.

Although tuition prices at RISD have continued to climb during Maeda's tenure, school officials say the rate of increase has been below average when compared to other similar schools. Students of color currently make of 27.5% of RISD students, a 9% increase from five years ago.